I. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data networks and computer communications across the data networks. More particularly, the invention relates to the licensing of software applications being executed on wireless devices from one or more application managing servers on a wireless data network.
II. Description of the Related Art
Wireless devices, such as cellular telephones, communicate packets including voice and data over a wireless network. Cellular telephones themselves are being manufactured with increased computing capabilities and are becoming tantamount to personal computers and hand-held personal digital assistants (“PDAs”). These “smart” cellular telephone have installed application programming interfaces (“APIs”) onto their local computer platform that allow software developers to create software applications that operate on the cellular telephone. The API sits between the wireless device system software and the software application, making the cellular telephone functionality available to the application without requiring the software developer to have the specific cellular telephone system source code.
The software applications can come pre-loaded at the time the wireless telephone is manufactured, or the user may later request that additional programs be downloaded over cellular telecommunication carrier networks, where the programs are executable on the wireless telephone. As a result, users of wireless telephones can customize their wireless telephones with programs, such as games, printed media, stock updates, news, or any other type of information or program available for download through the wireless network. Each of these software applications normally requires a license for the user to legally use the software on the wireless device. The license can be copied to the wireless device from the server with the software, or the license can be created on the wireless device as a file, key, or other resident object.
If a license is meant to limit the use of the software application to a finite duration, such as a specific number of times of execution or number of days of use, then once the license expires, a user of the wireless device must typically either download a new license to incorporate into the software application, or reinstall the entire software application if further use of the application is desired. The wireless device API normally checks the software either at the time execution is requested or at some other period to determine if the software is licensed for use on the platform. Alternatively, the wireless device can contact a server every time the execution of the software application is requested and the server, which then either sends permission or denial for execution of the application, can determine if a valid license is present. Although, if a communication link is expensive, such as a cellular telephone call, then the monitoring of the license preferably occurs on the wireless device.
If the license has expired, the wireless device will not execute the unlicensed software application, and if the user desires additional use of the software application, the user will typically either call a service provider or contact the service provider through other means, such as through an Internet access, and the service provider will either transmit a new license to the wireless device or transmit a new application that has a new license embedded within it. Thus, significant action must be undertaken by the user, such as contacting the service provider from the wireless device, which can be expensive, or waiting until a less expensive connection can be made, such as from a land-based telephone line or an Internet connection.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system whereby a licensed software application can have its license renewed without significant action taken by the user of the wireless device to contact the software application provider. Further, such license should be readily integrated into the wireless device and software application so that a significant update or reload of the application is not necessary in order to use the new license. It is thus to the provision of such a system and method that can control the licensing of the software applications on wireless devices that the present invention is primarily directed.